A thought on Parsas Va'era
"...etzba Elokim hee...""...and the sorcerers declared..."this is the finger of the Lord..." (8:15)
When the plague of lice hit the Egyptians, none of local magic tricks could stop it. In fear and with resignation, Pharaoh's sorcerer's acknowledged that this was "the Lord's finger."
An odd expression. What does a "finger of G-d" mean? Is it only an Egyptian idiom or does it have meaning for us as well?Rabbeinu Bachya observes, citing support from Rabbeinu Sa'adia Gaon, that there are three places where the image of a "finger" is presented in helping us understand something about the ways of HaShem.
In Tehillim (8:4), Dovid HaMelech sings "...ki er'eh Shamecha ma'asei etzbosecha..." - "when I see Your heavens, the products of Your fingers." We see from here that "finger work" refers to the wondrous complexity of the heavens above, the planets and celestial bodies. They are HaShem's creations.
Then, in Chumash (Shmos 31:18), we learn about the tablets (luchos even) which were "kesuvim b'etzba Elokim,", written by the "finger of the Lord."Then, we have our own verse about the lice. What is the theme here?The heavenly bodies, the moon, the sun, and the stars all shine on and nothing ever created was bigger than them nor nothing as luminous with traces of primeval light. Beneath them were the luchos which were brought down into the physical world from above yet they shone with even great luminosity, reflecting rays of Divine splendor. Beneath them were the lice. Lice are very small and have no fungible worth or value. Nonetheless, the celestial bodies, the tablets of stone and the lice are all described as the handiwork of the "fingers" in order that we understand that whether small, mighty, majestic or grand beyond comprehension and compare, every thing is the same with regard to HaShem's infinite power and will. Things big and small, great and lowly came to pass because HaShem willed them to emerge.
This humbling message gives perspective of HaShem's omnipotence in contrast with our own lack of complexity. When we get caught up in our sense of intricacy and significance, hearken back to the exclamation of the sorcerers: when the realized that they had reached the limits of their powers and foresaw the limitlessness of HaShem's power, they realized that the most difficult challenge for us is facile for the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth.
This may be the lesson to derive from the Egyptian idiom. Seeing the unfathomable feat of lice appear from nowhere prompted the sorcerers not just to startle with fascination, but to give homage, humbly, that the impossible is possible and "is nothing" for HaShem.
A good Shabbos. D Fox
When the plague of lice hit the Egyptians, none of local magic tricks could stop it. In fear and with resignation, Pharaoh's sorcerer's acknowledged that this was "the Lord's finger."
An odd expression. What does a "finger of G-d" mean? Is it only an Egyptian idiom or does it have meaning for us as well?Rabbeinu Bachya observes, citing support from Rabbeinu Sa'adia Gaon, that there are three places where the image of a "finger" is presented in helping us understand something about the ways of HaShem.
In Tehillim (8:4), Dovid HaMelech sings "...ki er'eh Shamecha ma'asei etzbosecha..." - "when I see Your heavens, the products of Your fingers." We see from here that "finger work" refers to the wondrous complexity of the heavens above, the planets and celestial bodies. They are HaShem's creations.
Then, in Chumash (Shmos 31:18), we learn about the tablets (luchos even) which were "kesuvim b'etzba Elokim,", written by the "finger of the Lord."Then, we have our own verse about the lice. What is the theme here?The heavenly bodies, the moon, the sun, and the stars all shine on and nothing ever created was bigger than them nor nothing as luminous with traces of primeval light. Beneath them were the luchos which were brought down into the physical world from above yet they shone with even great luminosity, reflecting rays of Divine splendor. Beneath them were the lice. Lice are very small and have no fungible worth or value. Nonetheless, the celestial bodies, the tablets of stone and the lice are all described as the handiwork of the "fingers" in order that we understand that whether small, mighty, majestic or grand beyond comprehension and compare, every thing is the same with regard to HaShem's infinite power and will. Things big and small, great and lowly came to pass because HaShem willed them to emerge.
This humbling message gives perspective of HaShem's omnipotence in contrast with our own lack of complexity. When we get caught up in our sense of intricacy and significance, hearken back to the exclamation of the sorcerers: when the realized that they had reached the limits of their powers and foresaw the limitlessness of HaShem's power, they realized that the most difficult challenge for us is facile for the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth.
This may be the lesson to derive from the Egyptian idiom. Seeing the unfathomable feat of lice appear from nowhere prompted the sorcerers not just to startle with fascination, but to give homage, humbly, that the impossible is possible and "is nothing" for HaShem.
A good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 7:56 AM
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